As well as Sima's family, reporters spoke to three other families with daughters under nine who were traded in marriage to settle debts.
The youngest was two months old when she was promised as a bride, with all the families pledging to give the girls to their future husbands when they reached between seven and nine years old.
Taliban Reversal
Child marriage is not new to south Asia.
But while the practice across the region has been declining, the Taliban takeover reversed that trend in Afghanistan.
"Since the new government came to power, the number of child mothers has increased dramatically.
In the past, perhaps only two child mothers visited the hospital each month, most of whom were from illiterate families.
But now, literate and illiterate families marry off their daughters at a young age," says Shabnam, a midwife.
Globally, “underage” means under 18, protected as a minor under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The World Health Organization separately warns against pregnancy below the age of 20, as mothers and babies risk “major health consequences”.
Shabnam recalls a 2024 case in which a 13-year-old came to her with severe bleeding after suffering a miscarriage.
She asked the mother why she allowed her young daughter to marry a man nearly 30 years old.
"To feed my other children, I had to sacrifice one of them," says Shabnam's patient's mother, as recalled by Shabnam.
Some families falsely believe the younger the mother, the healthier and smarter the child.
